The Girl Behind the Camera
by imthecleverone
Summary: Youtuber Sarah Herman (heyitssarah) is in need of a place to leave after finishing college. She and her best friend Miya move to London without her parent's permission. Sarah befriends other youtubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester. Chaos ensues.
1. Chapter 1

I watched out the window at the clouds slowly sinking as the plane rose steadily. Tears pooled in my eyes as I realized what I was doing for about the sixth time that day. I looked over at Miya who had a large smile on her face. I could tell she was excited. After all, she was moving to London, and she was sharing a flat with her best friend. How could she not be happy? Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely depressed to be getting away. I mean, why would I buy a plane ticket and get on a plane if I didn't want to leave? It was just hard to leave my parents without permission. I still don't understand why they wouldn't let me leave! It's just hard. Miya smiled at me, and I smiled back through my tears.

"Don't cry, you'll get me depressed!" She rubbed my shoulder and pulled out her phone. "Look, I downloaded a Doctor Who episode for us to watch!" I smiled and wiped my eyes. He always knew how to cheer me up. We spent the rest of the flight watching Doctor Who and Sherlock episodes we had downloaded for the trip. When the plane began to coast down we put away all our stuff and prepared for a landing. We were both so tired and couldn't wait to get to our hotel room. Miya and I had booked a hotel room in the airport (which we thought was so freaking cool that you could do that) because our flight came in at 1:00 in the morning. The plane landed and we shuffled off along with all the other tired passengers. We then spent 2 exhausting hours getting past security and finding our hotel room. We threw our suitcases on the ground and flopped into bed. Well, I let Miya have the one bed and I slept in the pull out couch.

I woke up at 8:00 to my phone going off. It was my mom's ringtone. I was immediately awake. I unplugged my phone and answered tentatively.

"H-hi mom!" I closed my eyes and prepared for the lecture and banishment from the family.

"Hi baby," I realized she was crying. "We found your note" Tears spilled over the edge of my lid.

"I'm so sorry mom. This is my dream! I still love you and I hope you will come visit me."

"Sarah, you left without permission! This is hardly the kind of stuff you can just apologize for!" She was angrier now and I couldn't tell if she was crying anymore. But I certainly was.

"Mom you don't understand! This is all I've ever wanted! I've saved up SO much money and worked so hard and you crushed me! What else do you expect me to do?"

"Sarah, please. I'm begging you. Just come home. Be with me and your dad and just be home!"

"Mom, I love you. And dad, and all the rest of my family, but this is something I need to do. I need to get away and be myself. I love you so much. I just got off the plane at one and I'm really tired. Can I call you some other time?"

" Sarah your dad and I need some time to calm down about this. Just wait until we call you. Remember I love you always. Bye sweetie."

"Bye mom" I sniffled. I hung up and fell back on the couch. The funny thing was, I didn't regret my decision in the slightest. They need to learn that I am responsible and can make my own decisions. I heard Miya come out from her room.

"You ok?" She asked. I nodded.

"Mom called," I said. I stood up and stretched. "I assume I'm not allowed back home anytime soon."

"I'm sorry," she said. "Maybe we shouldn't have come."

"Of course we should have! This is all I've ever wanted and is not letting my parents stop me." She nodded and went back in her room.

"We'll leave soon, are you ready?" Miya called a few minutes later.

"Yeah, let me get a shower and we can leave," I got up and slouched into the shower. After about 10 minutes we were leaving. My mood had dramatically improved when we walked outside and realized where we really were. I looked over at Miya who had this big goofy grin on her face.

"We're really here!" I laughed. "We made it!" I pulled out my phone and opened up maps. We found the nearest underground and it was thankfully only a few minutes away. The ride on it was smelly and crowded, I figured we'd be buying a car soon enough. When we arrived at our new apartment building, the receptionist gave us our room key and pointed us in the right direction.

The flat was amazing. It was better then we ever could have imagined. It was mostly furnished, we just had to buy things like bed sets, utensils and a chair or something else for the living room. We had already got all kinds of furnishings for our bedrooms and the living room. We were determined to make this the ultimate hangout flat. We had barely been there half an hour when we heard a knock on the door. I looked at Miya curiously.

"You're closer to the door!" She said and scooted further away on the couch. I rolled my eyes and stood up to answer it. I was greeted by a tall boy with crazy blonde hair. He smiled and waved awkwardly.

"I'm Caspar," he smiled. "I live down the hall and noticed you moved in. Just thought I'd introduce myself." I smiled warmly back.

"I'm Sarah, nice to meet you!" I stood back from the doorway. "C'mon in, I'll introduce you to my flatmate Miya." He walked in and I couldn't help but have the feeling I recognized him from somewhere. It was his accent, it sounded strangely out of place within the Bristish accents I had been hearing for the last day. I shook off the feeling and followed him into the living room.

"Miya, this is Caspar. Caspar, Miya." I introduced. She waved and smiled.

"Nice to meet you Miya." Caspar said. We sat down and I struck up conversation. I suddenly realized where I recognized him.

"You're on YouTube aren't you?" He smiled and nodded.

"And so are you! I didn't want to say and make it awkward, but I'm a big fan." He looked down and I laughed.

"Your videos are cool too!" I pulled my phone out of my pocket. "Mind if I get a picture?" He looked up and shook his head. I motioned to Miya and she walked over. I noticed she hadn't said anything the whole time, but shook it off as nothing. We posed and after the picture was taken I tweeted it.

_ heyitssarah: apparently me and thatgeekymiya moved in next door to_ caspar_lee!_ YouTuber party!_

We chatted for a few more minutes and exchanged numbers before Caspar said he needed to leave. We agreed to meet up for coffee sometime soon. After I heard the door close I turned to Miya.

"What is your problem?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I've watched his videos before, he just doesn't seem like a very nice guy." She busied herself with sorting through her luggage.

"Whatever. Why don't you give him a chance? He seems perfectly nice to me." She didn't answer. I rolled my eyes. We both jumped when the phone on the wall rang. Miya stood up and reached over to answer it.

"Hello?" She had a tentative look on her face before smiling and thanking the person on the other end. She hung the phone back on the hook.

"Our stuff's here!" She smiled. We had apparently timed it perfectly. "The man will bring it up soon!" In a few hours, all of our clothing had been unpacked into our wardrobes and we hung up our posters and such. Our living room was still a large mess of boxes. We were starving by the end. After a rather serious rock-paper-scissors battle I was chosen to go to the grocery store across the street. I sighed, slipped on a pair of boots and headed for the door.

I've got to admit, I did miss home a little bit. I mean, living at home meant that there was always food in the closet, a mother willing to do my laundry and a free bed to sleep in. But there was a certain feeling of freedom that living on your own gave you. Like, you could wake up at noon and eat pancakes for dinner and not get a disappointed look from your dad. As I was walking in the door of the small grocery store, I pulled out my phone and started to vlog.

"Hey guys! Guess where I am?" I panned around and then back to me. "Me and Miya moved to London! I know your all going to yell at me. But I promise there is a reason I didn't tell you sooner!" I didn't want to chance that my mom would decide to watch my videos and that one video spoil everything. I continued to talk, walking back and forth up the aisles. About 2 minutes in, I heard my name being called from behind me. It wasn't Miya; it was obviously male. Caspar? No, the accent was different. I turned around to find Dan Howell standing behind me with a massive grin on his face


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Just thought I'd clarify a few things;** ** Firstly, I am American, so I will be referring to things in the American way. For example, "chips" will be called french fries. Second of all, I'll also be using American money, because I have no idea what the ratio is between American and British money. Also, this is probably going to include a lot of other Youtubers as well as Dan and Phil. Are there any people you would like to see included in the story? Mention them in the reviews or message me! -Sarah xx**

Now here's the thing. I'm a YouTuber. That's how I make my living, and I enjoy it. I'm not sure how my parents approve of my career, but I don't care. It keeps me alive and I love to do it. I've made quite a few collab videos with people like Tobuscus, and Pewdiepie. I've also talked to Youtubers like Marcus Butler and Jack Harries. I had met them at vidcon and we've kept in touch. But two people I have always wanted to meet are Dan Howell and Phil Lester. They just seem like such fun loving, goofy guys. When I moved to London, the thought didn't even cross my mind that I might meet them. And now Dan was standing behind me! I tried to play it cool and continue vlogging. Inside I was screaming like one of those fangirls.

"And a wild danisnotonfire appears!" I laughed and walked down the aisle toward him.

"My vlogging senses were tingling!" He flashed me an award-winning smile and waved at the camera. "Hi everyone! What on Earth are you doing here?" I sighed.

"It's a long story. Basically, I ran away." I frowned and his eyes widened.

"No way! That's terrible!" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. I laughed and he looked at me quizzically. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just my fans. Every time I so much as breath the same air as a guy they're all like "ZOMG I ship it! OTP! So cute!" Dan laughed. We continued vlogging together. It felt like we had known each other forever when in reality we had just met. After about 5 minutes I said goodbye to the camera and shut it off. I sighed and let myself relax. My vlogs were always so perky and happy, but eventually it got tiring.

"So, you're in London!" Dan threw his hands up in excitement. "This probably sounds really weird, but I've always wanted to meet you. At vidcon I never got the chance to stop and say hi." I smiled. It was good to know that I wasn't the only immature fangirl.

"Same here! And what a great way to meet you too!" Dan nodded and pulled his phone it of his pocket, handing it to me.

"Put your number in, we should do a collab or something!" I nodded enthusiastically and handed my phone to him as well. Once we exchanged numbers he told me he had to get back to his flat. I waved goodbye and he promised to call soon. I couldn't stop grinning. Maybe moving to London was a better idea then we thought.

Miya and I ended up having frozen pizza for dinner. That was all I bought, I wasn't exactly experienced in the area of grocery shopping. There were so many choices! When I told Miya I that I had met Dan she flipped.

"You met Dan! We've only been here a day and you've met your idol already!" She hugged me tightly. She knew Dan and Phil were a huge inspiration to me and for a long time they were the only reason I made videos. We finished off dinner and I pulled my computer out of my bag. I plugged in my phone and started to upload the vlog. Miya turned on My Neighbor Totoro, which is my favorite Studio Ghibli film. While the vlog was uploading I logged onto twitter and started to type a new tweet.

_ heyitssarah: Just filmed a lovely vlog with a special guest star. Lets see if you guys can guess!_

Within two minutes I was getting responses.

_ supersmosher128: heyitssarah Please tell me its Smosh!_

_ princessniki00: heyitssarah I heard you and pewdiepie were planning a video! _

_ mooshboop62: heyitssarah Yay, did you get back in touch with Toby? #sarbuscus_

I laughed at the last one. When I went to vidcon, I often stayed at my friend Toby's house. Everyone thought we were dating, and sarbuscus was our ship name. Toby was one of my very best friends, but he's 7 years older than me! I sighed at the people who thought it was Felix. Did they really think I would be able to make it to Sweden without them knowing about it? Well, I guess I made it to London without even my _parents_ knowing. After another 20 minutes the vlog was uploaded. I sent out another tweet linking people to it

_ heyitssarah: Just uploaded a vlog, enjoy! __**[insert link here :S]**_

I closed my computer and stretched out on the couch. Miya and I spent the rest of the night watching Studio Ghibli films. When we finally went to bed I had a hard time falling asleep. I couldn't get the thought of home out of my head. I could picture my mom and dad sitting in the living room, worried sick about me.

'I should call them,' I thought. But then again, Mom didn't even seem that upset. She seemed angry with me, and wouldn't even listen to what I had to say. I tossed and turned all night, getting just about no sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Yes, I have not abandon the story or died or anything. I had a major case of writers block :(. Sorry that this chapter is a bit short, I wanted to get something for you guys! Anyway, enjoy, review and message me if you have any ideas/suggestions! -Sarah xx**

I woke up in the morning to my phone ringing loudly beside my head. It was Dad. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, took a deep breath and answered.

"Hi Dad!" I tried to sound cheerful, like I wasn't the least bit homesick.

"Hi Sar, how are things?" I was taken aback by his answer. Out of both my parents, I would expect him to be the angriest. I answered back cautiously, not quite sure where he was going with this.

"Uh, they're good. How're things at home?"

"They're ok. Mom misses you a lot," He still sounded nonchalant, like I had just spent the night at Miya's house instead of moving across the globe.

"I know. I'll come home to visit eventually. I just really wanted to do this,"

"All of you're friends are asking where you are. People miss you, Sarah," He still sounded kind and casual, but I realized what he was doing. By making me feel guilty about leaving, he thought he would make me want to come home.

"Dad, I know what you're doing. And it's not going to work. I'm staying here, in London, with Miya and there's nothing you can do about it." I heard him sigh on the other end.

"Sarah, you're not old enough to live this far from home. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud that you've moved out, but you didn't need to go as far as England!"

"I'm 21 Dad. I'm plenty old enough to be living on my own and there is NOTHING you can do to stop me!" I didn't even wait for a response. I hung up and threw my phone down on the bed, soon followed by me. I began to cry. Not tears of homesickness, or sadness, just tears of pure frustration. I thought parents were supposed to support you, and all mine were doing was trying to keep me from doing what I wanted to do most.

A few minutes later my phone rang again. I picked it up, ready for a shouting match with my parents, but it was Dan. His name on the screen immediately lightened my spirits and I answered.

"Hi!" I tried my hardest to keep my breath from hitching, as it normally did after I had been crying.

"Hi Sarah, how was your first night in your new flat?"

"It was pretty good. I didn't sleep very well though, I couldn't stop thinking about home," I regretted telling him that immediately. I didn't want him worried about me unnecessarily.

"Sorry to hear that! How about Phil and I take you and Miya out to show you around London. Would that make you feel a little less homesick?"

"Dan, I can't let you do that,"

"Course you can! C'mon, it'll be fun!" I sighed, defeated.

"If you insist," I heard him cheer on the other end.

"Phil, I told you she would cave! Alright then, where should we pick you up?" I laughed and proceeded to give him the location of the flat we were staying in. "Great! See you in, say, an hour?"

"Awesome! See you then!" I turned off my phone and shoved it in my sweatshirt pocket. I got out of bed and started to go in Miya's room when I heard a thunk and a loud swear come from the living room.

"Miya?" I called.

"In here," she answered. I went into the living room to find our box of DVDs empty on the floor with the DVDs spilled out all around it.

"Miya! I alphabetized those!" The week before we left we had been packing and I had a pretty massive panic attack. This made my OCD act up so I felt the need to organize everything, when I'm normally pretty chilled out about that. Therefore all the books, CDs and movies were alphabetized, my clothes were organized by color and in rainbow order, and the boxes were very neatly packed. She looked up guiltily.

"Sorry," she pouted. I laughed and bent down beginning to gather up the spilled discs. Once they were shoved into the box, we slid it onto the corner.

"Dan called, he wants to know if you and I wanted to go for a "tour of London" with him and Phil." She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Great! They said they'd be here in an hour."

"I call the bathroom first!" She got up and ran into her bedroom.

"Miya, there's two bathrooms!" I shouted after her. She either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me. Either way, I got up and went into my bedroom as well. I picked out an outfit (_ girl_behind_camera_outfit/set?id=75291302) _and carried it into the bathroom. After a quick shower I threw on some makeup and I was ready to go. When I walked into the living room Miya was dressed and sitting on the couch. She had her back turned to me, so I took this chance to sneak up behind her. I tiptoed quietly until I was inches away from her head.

"HI MIYA!" I screamed. She yelped and jumped in the air, scrambling away from me and onto the floor.

"I hate you! You're a terrible person to live with!" She stood up and brushed herself off before settling back on the couch. I laughed and somersaulted over the back of the couch, landing next to her.

"Dan and Phil should be here soon," She nodded, and just as I said that the doorbell rang. We both jumped up and ran toward the door, both wanting to be the one to answer it. I pushed Miya out of the way and opened the door.

"Hi Dan, hi Phil!" I greeted. Miya groaned from the floor behind me. They peered around me to see where the noise came from.

"Um, is she ok?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, she's just a wimp. Its only a broken spine, she'll live," Phil looked genuinely terrified, and glanced at Dan as if to say 'Are you sure this was a good idea?'. I laughed "Phil, I'm joking."

"Yeah, I'm PERFECTLY FINE," Miya yelled from behind me. She stood up and walked forward.

"I'm Miya, Sarah's roommate."

"You ready to go then?" Dan asked. We nodded. I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked out the door, prepared for one whirlwind of a day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I haven't posted in a long time, but I should be getting on a schedule of sorts. Every Wednesday maybe? We'll see how that works out.**

"So, where are we headed?" I asked as we walked out of the apartment building and into the busy streets of London.

"Well we were thinking we could stop by Starbucks and grab some breakfast to go and then head down to a park near here to eat. Does that sound okay?" Phil asked. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Sounds great!" Miya and I said in sync. We looked at each other and I stuck my tongue out.

"Copy cat!" She shoved my shoulder and I fell over into Dan, who then fell onto an elderly woman walking next to him.

"I'm sorry!" he said, his face flushing red. She rolled her eyes and muttered something about kids these days before walking away. Miya, Phil and I were in stiches laughing while Dan looked mortified. "Its not funny!"

"You should have seen your face!" Miya managed between laughter. I made my eyes go all wide and let my mouth fall open in an exaggerated imitation of Dan's face moments ago. He succumbed to laughter as we walked into Starbucks. We walked up to the counter as the barista eyed us with suspicion.

"May I take your order?" We composed ourselves enough to tell her what we wanted. Phil ordered a hot chocolate, Miya and I both ordered hazelnut macchiatos and Dan had a white chocolate mocha. We also ordered 6 chocolate chip croissants. After a few minutes our food was ready and I went to grab my wallet out of my bag, but Dan stopped me.

"Dan, let me pay!" He shook his head.

"No, I'll pay. Consider it my welcome to London gift," I gave him a death glare but obliged. I grabbed my coffee and we headed out the door. We turned onto the busy street, and I grabbed Phil's sleeve to make sure we didn't get lost in the crowd. We wove through the mass of people and soon emerged into a large, grassy field.

"That was… scary!" Miya let go of the tight hold she had on my rucksack. Dan and Phil laughed knowingly.

"Welcome to London!" Dan chuckled. "You'll get used to it." He set the bag of food on the grass and we all sat down. I brought my coffee to my mouth and went to take a sip but ended up burning myself.

"Ow!" I yelped, my hand flying to my lip.

"What happened?" Phil asked, oblivious as ever. I rolled my eyes.

"A bear mauled my face Phil," He flushed and looked down at his lap as the rest of us chuckled. I set my coffee down to cool and reached into the bag. Pulling out a warm croissant, I took a large bite, closed my eyes and sighed. No matter how far I was from home Starbucks would always be there. Yes, I'm aware there is a slight addiction forming.

I opened my eyes to find Dan staring at me with an amused look on his face. I felt my face go red, betraying my embarrassment. I got embarrassed so easily and I hated it. After everyone had eaten and we were sipping the last of our drinks Phil's phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered. "Oh hi Peej! Well, we're actually out with some friends. Are you sure? Alright, I'll see you then!" He pulled his phone away from his ear and hung up. "I guess I know where were going now!"

"ARE WE GOING TO DISNEY LAND?" Miya shouted from beside me. I knew letting her get caffeine was a bad idea. I took her coffee and dumped the last few gulps into the grass. She looked over at it with a devastated look.

"No more caffeine for you!" I scolded her. I turned to Phil. "Where are we going?"

"Our friend PJ invited us over, he said he had some video planned. He's a Youtuber too. We don't have to go if you don't want to." I grinned widely and nodded.

"That'll be awesome!" Dan hopped up from where he was sitting. "Let us embark on this treacherous journey to," He paused for dramatic effect. "PJ's house!" Miya and I both laughed while Phil rolled his eyes.

"You've been playing too much Skyrim," He murmured. We all began walking out of the field and toward where I assumed was either PJ's house or a subway. We walked for a while more and I saw the dreaded subway station looming ahead. Miya looked over at me knowingly.

"You guys have been on the tube before?" Phil asked, noting the faces we made.

"It was the worst experience of my life," I stuck out my tongue and gagged. "I sat next to some smelly guy the whole ride and the lady across from us was yelling at her husband over the phone."

"Well I'm not smelly," Phil pouted.

"Yeah, you can sit right next to me," Dan turned around and winked at me. I rolled my eyes and ran ahead of him.

"Yeah, if you can catch me, slowpoke!" I dashed into the station, my backpack bouncing on my back. I was met with a large crowd of people. I went to turn back around but I had already merged into the group. I frantically tried to push my way out but it was no use. I had gotten lost in the crowd.

"DAN!" I called. I jumped up and tried to peek over the people's heads. I didn't even see the entrance. I was so disoriented; I didn't even know which way to try to go. "DAN! PHIL!" I called again. It was hopeless. I decided the best choice would be to get somewhere out in the open and wait for them to find me. Or possibly try to find someone who could point me in the right direction. I moved with the crowd and eventually it opened up into a large lobby-type area. I looked around for a security guard who could help me. There was no one. I walked over to a bench and sat down. I was just about to pull out my phone to call them when I felt a sharp tug on my backpack.

"Hey, get off!" I whirled around and was met with a very tall, very muscular man. He looked as if he hadn't shaved in a month and he reeked of cheap motel shampoo. I hate that smell. I went to get off the bench and get away from him, but he held into my rucksack. "I said get off damnit!" He chuckled.

"Got a mouth, do we?" He pulled harder, making me fall over the bench and onto the floor.

"Oi! Get off her!" He dropped the bag and ran off. I felt a reassuring hand on my back and looked up.

"Thank you," I stammered.

"Don't worry about it. Are you ok?" I nodded.  
Y-you're a Youtuber aren't you? I recognize you." He grinned.  
"I'm Chris. And you're… Sarah?" I nodded and let a small smile glimmer across my face.

"You're Dan and Phil's friend, I remember you being in a video together." I looked up and saw Dan, Phil and Miya running in my direction. Miya ran up first and smacked me on the side of the head.

"What did you run off for?" She asked, giving me her 'I can't believe you just did that and you will pay for your crimes' look. Phil came up next and put his hands on either side of my face, his pale blue eyes boring into mine.

"Don't. Do that," he said sternly. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged him off. "I see you've met Chris already. Are you headed to PJ's too?" Phil said in his direction. Chris nodded.

"Good, we can ride together." Dan put in. I nodded, and stood shakily to my feet.  
"Should we get going then?"


End file.
